Kansasincome tax up to 5.7%, 15th highest property tax, median home $220K

Worth knowing before you move to Kansas

Kansas stopped taxing Social Security entirely in 2024 and consolidated its brackets, and property taxes fall heavily on homeowners because agricultural land is assessed on use value. Johnson County, in the Kansas City suburbs, has the state's best-rated schools and highest home prices. The state sits squarely in Tornado Alley.

What Kansas taxes, and what it doesn't

Kansas levies a graduated income tax that tops out at 5.7%. A household earning $75,000 pays an effective 5.5%, about $4,098 a year; at $150,000 the effective rate is 5.5%. Among the 41 states that tax income, Kansas has the 7th highest effective rate at $100,000 of income.

Property tax runs 1.24% of home value a year, roughly $2,728 on the state's median home of $220K. The national effective rate is about 1.10%, and Kansas has the 15th highest rate of the 50 states.

Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.68%, the 9th highest in the country (the state portion is 6.5%).

For retirees: Kansas is one of the few states that taxes Social Security benefits, pension income is partly exempt, and there is no estate or inheritance tax.

Capital gains are taxed as ordinary income.

Housing and the cost of living in Kansas

Kansas's cost of living index is 86, where 100 is the national average; that is the 5th cheapest of the 50 states.

The median home costs $220K, 27% below the national figure and the 9th lowest among the states. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,050 a month.

Carrying costs matter as much as the price: home insurance averages $4,500 a year, flood coverage adds about $600 where it is needed, car insurance runs $1,590.

Budget $130 a month for electricity and gas, $440 a month in groceries for two, $1,050 a month for full-time infant care.

Safety, health and schools

Violent crime is 410 incidents per 100,000 residents in the FBI's 2023 Crime Data Explorer figures, above the median state (387); Kansas is the 20th most violent of the 50 by that measure. Property crime is 2,225 per 100,000.

Life expectancy is 77.2 years (County Health Rankings 2024). 9.6% of residents have no health insurance, and the state has not expanded Medicaid. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Kansas's health system 29th of 50.

Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks K-12 schools 26th in the country.

Politics, guns and social policy

Politically, Kansas is a solidly Republican state that went to Trump by 20 points in 2024.

On guns, no permit is required to carry a concealed handgun, and Giffords grades the state's gun laws F.

Abortion is protected by state law. Marijuana is illegal. Kansas is a right-to-work state, and the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Climate, risk and getting around

Natural disaster risk is very high. The main hazards are tornado, blizzard, drought. Annual average air quality index is 38 (under 50 is good).

Kansas has no top-25 hub airport, with about 35 nonstop destinations from its busiest airport.